Gonna be a long day today -- about 9 hours of flying time, by my reckoning. But Mecca is next on my list, with a detour to Luxor, and a few detours for FSE jobs.
To start off, I've got 3 Business Charter passengers heading my way to El Kharga. Thank goodness for GPS; Egypt is flat, and once you get away from the Nile, a fairly featureless desert. There are no landmarks to navigate by, and only by following the "magenta line" was I able to find the airport.
End: HEKG, 1117; $7728.82 and 15gal
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Smooth sailing so far. I've exchange my passengers for 3 Private Shuttle passengers, and I'm now headed to Luxor. Because it's there, I'll be flying over the Valley of the Kings on my way. Don't know that I'll see much (I rather doubt that King Tut's tomb is much to look at from the air!), but I gotta try!
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| King Tut's Tomb is now a condominium! |
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Hope this works -- FSE says my next job is at HE0R, but Plan-G shows it as HE26. Both are Wadi Abu Shihat. I'm empty on this leg, so if I have to scramble to find the right destination airport, no one will know but me!
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| Egyptian ATC leaves a little something to be desired! |
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Well, that worked like a charm. No matter what it's called, there's only one airport there in the middle of the desert. I landed, and FSE was happy to let me continue on my way. I'm picking up 2 ACI Transient Pilots and we're heading to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Along the way, we'll oveyfly Mecca for some quick photos. It will be 520 miles, so I've filled the tanks and will try not to dilly-dally too much! Since I normally cruise at 6gph, my 5 hour cruise should only use 30 gallons or so, making this leg long but not worrisome.
Everything's going very smoothly, although I'm getting a bit tired at the end of a long day. What I hadn't counted on was an early sunset as I approach Mecca. It's only 6:30pm, but it's getting pretty dark, so my photos will highlight the impressive night life!
Besides, Mecca was not what I was expecting at all. From what I could see, it's a completely modern city, with high-rises, large, straight streets, etc. Where are all the thousand year old adobe villages; where are all the ornate mosques? If they are there, I couldn't find them. Maybe I'll have to come back tomorrow morning when the sun is up.
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| The one mosque-like building I could find in Mecca. |
End: OEJN, 1925; $10045.10 and 17gal
Total Distance Flown: 12,751 nautical miles
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